I'm 19 years old, and I'm a student at Pensacola Junior College. I'm the sports editor of our school paper, The Corsair. www.ecorsair.com. I also publish movie reviews for The Corsair. I plan to transfer to the University of Florida and major in journalism; after which I will make a decision to pursue a writing career in sports or entertainment.
As a critic, I try to be tough but fair and never mean. When I rate movies, I alternate between letter grades and the traditional four star system. When I get my own website, this is the system I will use (with credit to Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews)
**** (masterpiece, classic, one to add to the DVD collection, A+ )
***½ (excellent film, highly recommended, A/A-)
*** (very good film, recommended B/B+ )
**½ (borderlines mediocrity but has something that makes it worthwhile, B-)
** (fair, average, could have been better, C/C+ )
*½ (weak, poor effort, C-/D+ )
* (Bad, avoid it, D)
½* (darn near unwatchable, D-/F)
Zero Stars (offensive and repulsive, could be used for eternal punishment in hell, F-)
So if you see an A, it's 3 1/2 stars because I think 4 stars should be reserved for the absolute best. A masterpiece for me is one I will buy and watch over and over. If I give an A, it means it's an admirably great film but not one I want to watch a lot of times if more than once (example: United 93). Also, a movie that I think is really cool that I give an A, might not quite measure up to an A+ (example: The Host).I don't give away very many A+ 's. I saw 110 movies in 2006 and gave away only 3 A+ 's: Pan's Labyrinth, The Painted Veil, and The Departed. In case you're interested, the rest of my Top 10 list are: United 93, Deliver Us From Evil, Days of Glory, The Aura, Little Miss Sunshine, World Trade Center, Blood Diamond.
So there's my system and I hope you have a better feel for my taste in movies.
|